Colorado Eagles' defenseman playing with So(u)l

Blueliner has NHL aspirations

Cody Sol has joined the Colorado Eagles this year as a smooth-skating defenseman who moves rather well for his size.
(Jenny Sparks)

Insert a single letter in Cody Sol's last name, and you get an idea of how he plays.

Sol plays with soul, no matter what sweater he's wearing. And perhaps one of these days real soon, he'll be sporting a NHL logo on his breast.

With his size and ability to skate very well, and a rocket shot to top things off, there's no wonder why the 6-foot-6, 242-pound defenseman might be a hot commodity in the pros. He's shown a little bit of everything, if you look at his junior stats even up to last season, and he's just 21 years old.

But, he's still waiting for a break, something the NHL lockout currently isn't providing.

Sol -- actually pronounced 'Saul' -- is in the second year of a three-year, entry-level contract with the Winnipeg Jets, who drafted him in the fifth round of the 2009 Entry Draft when the franchise was still in Atlanta.

Until this year, he was busy in juniors developing his game beyond just being a big body. In fact, with the OHL's Kitchener Rangers in 2011-12, Sol produced 15 goals and added 23 assists to go along with 180 penalty minutes.

With the contract that he signed, which included salaries to be made should he make the NHL or the AHL, Sol had expectations that this year would be the one he'd be making the jump to the AHL. But with the lockout tying up roster spots on the already-precious back end, Sol is doing his damage early on for the Eagles.

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"Obviously my goal is to play in St. John's but I'm going to play for whatever team is on my chest and play hard for that logo," Sol said after Tuesday's practice at the Budweiser Events Center. "I can't let (the lockout) be an excuse; there are roster spots on every team, and that's for me to fight for. I didn't earn a spot right now, so I have to keep working hard to get back up there."

Rarely do players with his size skate so fluid, but Sol has speed and maneuverability. That has helped him play solid defense as the ECHL game has picked up in speed. He has an even plus-minus (the team is at minus-17 for the season) and has picked up 15 PIMs in five games.

While he hasn't found the back of the net yet, it's hard to follow the puck any time he lets a shot go from the point.

But it's his ability to get around that stands out to head coach Chris Stewart.

"For a big man, Cody moves extremely well. I think he picks his feet up very well, not only going forward but his backward lateral movement is exceptional," Stewart said. "His game has got to be one that's abrasive and physical, and if he can bring that together with the talent that he has, he's going to be a sure-fire NHL player."

"Being a big man, it's tough to get a good stride in, but I got a lot of training in this summer," Sol said. "It's come a long way over the past few years, and that's something I take pride in."

It's all progression, and the ECHL is still something Sol considers a step in the direction of getting to the bigs. He said he's seen plenty of legitimate talent on his own team as well as the opposition. "There's a lot of good players (in the ECHL); the last team we played, there are some big-name guys there, a lot of guys that have proven themselves at higher levels," Sol said. "It's just about making a name for myself right now."

He'll do that in a variety of ways, and fighting is one of his specialties. This year, he hasn't been able to get another player to really square up with him, as a couple of his early bouts have been wrestling matches where the smaller player will bury himself close to the body.

He's willing to fight any time as long as there is a reason, and that aggressive nature is something Stewart would like to see more consistently in other areas of his defensive play.

Stewart said an area of improvement could be 1-on-1 defense but that he's made intelligent plays ever since joining the team.

"There's a game that he needs to play in order for him to be a far more effective pro, and that's one where he's got to be like sandpaper," Stewart added. "He's got to make it hard on the other team to get into net zone, to be able to get into our zone ... that's part of his game that, when it combines with his talent, he'll be a force to be reckoned with."